Mavs Plan on Luka Doncic (Neck) Playing vs. Clippers in Game 4

Mavs Talk: Dallas hoping to have Luka Doncic on hand for Game 4

Tomer Barazani | May 30, 2021

Mavs Plan on Luka Doncic (Neck) Playing vs. Clippers in Game 4 /

The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, making the series 2-1 in Dallas’s favor.

Mavericks star Luka Doncic had an outstanding performance of 44 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists, yet he seemed to be aggravated by a pain in his neck.

I’m no doctor, just someone a thousand-some miles away wondering how Luka’s head/neck is? This was him right before the third quarter got going. He seemed to be wincing some out there too. pic.twitter.com/PFLArXzF9H
— Mirjam Swanson (@MirjamSwanson) May 29, 2021

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle expressed his hope for Doncic and said, "I think he's going to play, but we'll see how he feels tomorrow."

On Sunday, sources have confirmed that the plan is that Doncic will play:

Dallas star Luka Doncic is expected to play vs. Clippers in Game 4 despite his neck strain, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 30, 2021

After Doncic's remarkable start, the supporting cast struggled to keep the momentum going. Most notably, Kristaps Porzingis finished with only nine points on 3-10 shooting.

Now let's hear Mavs talk:

Carlisle on moving forward:

“It’s important to be aggressive, but maintain your poise, and I think that’s going to be a big key as we head into Game 4,"

Doncic on his pain:

"It's just weird... Just some massage, some ice and hopefully we're good."

Doncic on the Mavs’ crowd of over 17,000:

"I wish we would've given them a win, but we'll try again on Sunday."

Porzingis on his disappointing performance:

"Just frustrated at moments and trying to keep my head in the right place where I keep playing hard, keeping doing things I can do."

Paul George on the crowd:

"It was just great to have a crowd like this. It was amazing to come out here and play in front of these fans, even if they were stacked against us."

Game 4 is set to tip off on Sunday, May 30 at 8:30 p.m. CST.